Our wishful thinking aside, it's a matter of possible vs impossible. They simply didn't have the money to pay out tenfold windfalls after spending millions to build chips/boards/systems.
What do you call it when a company can't meet its obligations? We call that "bankruptcy"! When that happens, lawyers get involved. Shocker!
Bankruptcy is one course of action, recapitalization is another. The latter is preferable, unless you want to ensure the lawyers get everything.
BTW, very wise of you to drop the tenfold windfall demand. It was making you appear foolish.
